Slow start for seafood tours

Last updated 09:50 19/02/2013

Kat Pickford

Joint venture: Marlborough Travel director Chris Godsiff, left, has been working with New Zealand King Salmon, including aquaculture project manager Mitch Rowe for nearly 30 years and is thrilled to be working with the company to provide a new tourism venture from Picton.

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Chris Godsiff, of Marlborough Travel, says new seafood tours of Queen Charlotte Sound are experiencing a soft start ahead of the new venture being promoted.

The new Seafood Odyssea tour, which visited Ruakaka Salmon Farm and Tio Point mussel farm in Tory Channel had run since December, Mr Godsiff said.

Trips were planned for Saturday and today.

Mr Godsiff expected the tour, aimed mostly at international visitors, would take off after planned promotion at the Trenz (Tourism Rendezvous NZ) show in April this year.

"I expect the tours will be bigger this time next year," he said.

New Zealand groups, including wine and food enthusiasts and family parties, had also joined the tours.

Depending on the weather, they would also check out the Tio Point oyster farm in the Tory Channel.

Anonymous reports to the Marlborough Express that King Salmon had told his company to stay away from Ruakaka this month because fish there were dying were untrue, Mr Godsiff said.

King Salmon environmental compliance manager Mark Gillard said there was nothing unusual about fish death rates at Ruakaka for this time of year.